Experimental Nibbles
by forcedInduction
Summary: Judy loved Nick's smile. She only wished she could calm the butterflies she felt when she saw his teeth. (Cover art by うぃうぃ on Pixiv).
1. Professional Help

**OH LOOK it's yet another thing that's not more Year of the Dog. Sorry about that.**

 **So in case some of you don't know, Zootopia was fantastic. It's a really interesting world to play with, and Nick and Judy are brilliant characters who totally deserve each other. I wasn't even halfway through the movie before I concluded that I gots to ship that.**

The Rabbit's Dilemma, or Professional Help

Judy had always treasured Nick's smile - not to be confused with his smirk. The smirk was just his face's resting position after a traumatic scout meeting and 20 years of hustling convinced him that the world shouldn't get to see him feel. The smirk was softer and warmer these days, and Judy was pretty sure it now reflected Nick's satisfaction with his new lot in life.

The smirk was typical, but Nick's smile was something special. Judy couldn't be sure, but she suspected he saved it just for her. It was warm and genuine, and decidedly unlike the smirk. The smirk told the world he was doing just fine, thanks, but the smile was his way of showing Judy he was truly, almost sickeningly (his words, not hers) happy - usually with her.

Occasionally the police power-couple's action-packed version of domestic bliss even wrested a laugh from Nick's lips. He'd laugh so freely and deeply that she could see his teeth, and she'd treasure the peace she felt at seeing him happy. Those used to be Judy's favorite moments with Nick, but things had changed, and she desperately wished she could change them back.

It wasn't that anything about her foxy boyfriend had changed. No, the change came from within Judy, and it had taken root in her so slowly that she hadn't noticed until the damage was done. Now, when Nick laughed, she just saw teeth. Sharp, predatory teeth, designed for hunting and devouring soft little creatures like her. The original purpose of those gorgeous canines was not the issue, though. The problem was how she felt about them.

She _loved_ Nick's teeth.

It hit her one day when they were sharing a cloud of cotton candy as they strolled through the park. Judy held the swab of neon fluff aloft for Nick to take a bite, and the entire thing had threatened to come off the cone when the sweet-toothed fox bit into it. Judy hadn't noticed, so he put a paw on her shoulder while making an indistinct noise of alarm to get her attention. It was all he could do with his mouth full of spun sugar. The grey rabbit had paused and immediately dissolved into giggles as she noticed his predicament. He narrowed his eyes at her reproachfully, but she knew he was only playing with her. She watched in amusement as he pressed a paw gently against the middle of the swab and carefully pulled with his teeth, extracting a bite that was just past reasonably sized instead of ending up with a pink beard.

Her amusement had apparently turned to fascination without her noticing, because she barely registered Nick commenting that his sharp teeth were still good for something. She had been too busy watching, mesmerized, as he tore a chunk out of the treat, licking his lips with his (relatively) big fox tongue to remove the sticky residue. It wasn't a warm day - it was pleasantly breezy with just enough sun to remove the chill, in fact - but a startling heat had bloomed in her face and trickled down to her stomach. Watching him bite his way to triumph over something unwieldy and uncooperative was… breathtaking.

Since that day, she had been hyper-aware of Nick's predatory features - his teeth, his claws, his sleek, powerful form. Yes, bunnies were also sleek and powerful, but there was no denying that foxes wore it differently. She knew that Nick would never intentionally hurt her - it was one of the most fundamental truths underpinning their relationship. She had absolute faith in him when it came to her safety. She trusted him with her life every day, on and off the clock. Judy never once entertained the idea that Nick would use his predatory advantages against her.

But she became increasingly distraught at the idea that she might _want_ him to do just that.

It was a startling thought, but she tried to approach it rationally. At first, she just focused on the awe Nick elicited in her, wondering where the heck it came from. In time, she realized that it had started when they'd put on their show for Bellwether, convincing the perfidious ewe that Nick had gone savage. Judy was surprised to find herself considering the possibility that she'd _always_ felt a thrill at the idea of Nick preying on her. The memory of his teeth gently pressing on her neck in the museum made her head swim. She daydreamed about him claiming her in a savage way, making the most ancient and base parts of her bunny brain pulse with fear and trepidation while her higher faculties whispered that she was safe with him.

She desperately wanted to feel her boyfriend's teeth against her skin, but she was too afraid to ask. When she decided one night to weigh the pros and cons of asking, she found that the only pro on the list was her own selfish pleasure, while the con column contained an incredibly sobering possibility that she hadn't fully considered until she'd sat down to puzzle it out on paper.

How would Nick feel about her fetishizing something he was born with? Something he had to fight _his entire life_ to overcome? He didn't ask for those teeth. Those teeth had nearly earned him a place on what was sure to be the losing side of a struggle between the powerful many and the innocent few. Even in a scenario where he didn't leave her immediately, his lips curling in disgust at the idea of acting out the worst parts of his people's history for her amusement, he might silently wonder whether he was Judy Hopps' foxy boyfriend, or just her fox.

Judy had stared at the page, reeling, as she seriously considered the possibility that she was a despicable deviant who didn't deserve Nick's love at all.

She'd been worthless at the precinct and on her beat for the next few days, and it hadn't escaped Nick's attention. He was her partner in all things, and he knew when she was upset. Watching Judy practically sleepwalk through the motions of their work was not easy for him. Things were no better at home, and his favorite bunny's frown knocked the smirk right off his face. His lips were set in a thin line that week. He worried that he'd done something to upset her, or that she'd suddenly realized that she was a well-adjusted, bona-fide supercop and that shacking up with a lazy, emotionally challenged fox was a silly mistake. At work, he might have been holding her back from advancing through the ranks. At home, he'd never be able to give her a family the way a rabbit buck could.

Emotionally challenged as he was, it took the red fox the whole week to muster up the courage to ask Judy what was wrong. She gave him a wobbly smile and assured him he'd done nothing wrong.

She even went so far as to reiterate that she loved him. It was true that she said it on a daily basis - "I love you" was their goodbye, their goodnight, and their incantation for washing away a bad day - but there was nothing automatic about the way she said it this time. She did her best to leave him with no doubt about it. She told him that he was amazing, and that she was sorry for being so strange all week, explaining that she was just disappointed in herself for something. She promised she would explain it when she'd had more time to think on it, and privately resolved to stop making him worry. She focused on her love for Nick and her work, bending her frown back into a decent facsimile of her usual determined grin, and only allowed herself to ponder her tooth fixation when she was alone.

Ultimately, Judy ended up on the internet in search of answers. She set out to establish whether other prey animals had these strange feelings in the context of loving relationships, but what she found was mostly prey animals coming off as fetishists, admiring predators in passing or seeking them out for flings. Her stomach turned at most of their stories, and she struggled against the idea of comparing herself to the likes of them. She loved Nick long before she realized she loved his teeth. But what if the thrill had always been there? What if her subconscious was being selective when it told her Nick was funny and kind and handsome and deserved all the love in the world? Those things were all true, but loving his predatory features seemed to taint the love she felt for him as a whole. It was heartbreaking to consider that maybe the love she felt for him wasn't as pure as the love he felt for her.

She finally decided to enlist professional help. She made an appointment with a therapist - a cheetah, because she felt she needed to speak to a predator about this. She needed someone who could tell her how Nick might feel before she decided to detonate their relationship with the truth - the truth that Nick absolutely deserved.

* * *

Dr. Jubatus had a disarming smile and a quiet, cozy office, for which Judy was grateful. It made it easier to muster the courage to explain what she was feeling. The distraught bunny had described her issue, her face glowing with embarrassment, resolving to just make a run for it if the kindly-looking cat judged her harshly. So far, it looked like she wouldn't have to run.

"Even though 90% of Zootopia is prey, the vast majority of the animals who come to see me are predators. Do you know why?"

"Umm. Because they feel more comfortable talking to a predator?" Judy guessed.

"In most cases, yes, but what do you think they would want to discuss with a therapist that would make them seek out a fellow predator?"

"Feelings that they think only predators have?" Judy slowly ventured.

"Exactly. There are predators who come to me feeling guilty about the thoughts they have about prey, and they're usually some of the kindest animals you'd ever meet. If they've come to me, it means they see a problem with their attitude and want to correct it. Often the feelings they have toward prey stem from mistreatment at the paws of prey species when they were young."

"My boyfriend was treated horribly by a scout troop that was all prey when he was a kit. They ganged up on him and muzzled him. They told him they couldn't trust him not to go savage." Judy's voice was quiet but hard as she related the story of the first big blow to Nick's soul. "But he didn't hold it against all prey. He just pretended not to feel anything when people treated him like he was dangerous or shifty."

"Some animals would have taken a very different lesson away from an incident like that. I won't say that your boyfriend took the right one, but there are a few bad ones he didn't take. He sounds like a very nice boy." The cheetah smiled.

"He is." Judy smiled weakly. "That's why I'm so afraid to lose him. I don't want to think about what would happen if I told him I thought of him this way. It's the last thing he needs after all he's been through."

"Do you really think you'd lose him if you told him you admire his teeth?" The question stung, but it wasn't unexpected. It just hurt to hear it from someone other than her internal voice.

"I don't know!" Judy flung her arms up in defeat. "It's twisted, isn't it? I love him so much, but this stupid, giddy feeling I get when I remember he could bite me - **and I know he never would!** " She interjected. "It's crazy." She began to tear up. "I don't deserve Nick if I think of him as a predator. I know how much he hates it when people think of him that way. I just wish I could stop f-feeling this." Judy's voice broke as she fought her tears and the urge to sob.

The cheetah kindly handed her a box of tissues. "I know for a fact that you don't think of your boyfriend as a predator."

"Aren't you supposed to be a professional listener? I just said his teeth turn me on!" Judy cried flippantly. "Why couldn't it be something like his fur that made me feel that way?" She moaned, pausing to blow her nose. "I love his fur. It's soft and gorgeous but those -" She gave a shuddering sigh. "Those teeth are just mesmerizing." She whispered.

Dr. Jubatus smiled wryly at Judy's jab about her comprehension skills. "I have been listening, and I'm not hearing someone who thinks of her boyfriend as a predator. I'm hearing someone who's more afraid of herself than the fox she shares her life with. I'm hearing someone who loves her boyfriend enough to worry that her feelings could offend him. I've been listening to you worry about how unhappy _he_ would be if you were to hurt him, while glossing over the pain I'm sure _you_ would feel if he left you."

Judy pondered the doctor's response in silence.

"Have I established to your satisfaction that you love your boyfriend and don't think of him as a predator?" The cheetah asked playfully.

Judy let out a sniffle of mirth as she dabbed at her eyes. "I think so. I still don't know what I'm supposed to do, though. He deserves to know that I have those feelings."

"Actually, I would argue that an animal has has the right to keep her thoughts private." Judy looked up in surprise. "Especially if you believe the thought would do harm if it was shared. A thought alone doesn't harm other people. It's how you choose to act on a thought that matters."

"So you're saying I don't have to tell him?" The bunny asked meekly. Keeping it bottled up didn't seem especially attractive, but neither did telling him.

"That's right. But you also need to consider what kind of pain you might go through keeping these thoughts to yourself." Judy frowned. "There's a possibility I don't think you've considered, though." A set of rabbit eyebrows rose in suspense. "What if you told Nick how you feel and he was interested in helping you explore those feelings about his teeth?"

Judy opened her mouth to speak, but she wasn't sure what she was planning to say. She considered it for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed together. "That sounds more like one of my daydreams than anything." She muttered dejectedly.

"So you've fantasized before about discussing your curiosity with Nick and then exploring it together?"

"Yeah." Judy mumbled. "I mean, that would be ideal, since apparently this feeling isn't going away."

"It usually doesn't make much sense to blame a feeling. The best thing to do is examine the feeling and ask if it causes harm. In this case, the only downside of the feeling is your guilt over feeling it." Dr. Jubatus explained.

"I guess." Judy sighed. She was silent for a few seconds, staring at the floor. Eventually she lifted her eyes to the doctor. "Do you really think he'd be… _into_ this fixation I have?"

The cheetah smiled - Judy was daring to hope. "I think it's a chance worth taking. As for how you should broach the subject, I think you should tell him mostly what you've told me. Even though you fell in love with him for all kinds of the usual, wonderful reasons, you've developed an interest in his predatory features. You're feeling guilty about that interest, and that guilt is causing you a lot of pain. You'd like his help either exploring your curiosity, or trying to leave it behind." The feline doctor summarized. "And you love him. But I think we covered that." She added with a smile.

Judy gratefully returned the doctor's smile with one of her own. She could finally see a path forward. All she needed now was courage.


	2. Try Everything

**I re-submitted this chapter because FFnet didn't seem to notice it the first time it uploaded. I wanted to make sure anyone who followed after reading chapter 1 was alerted.**

Try Everything

"So what's been making your ears all droopy? The suspense is killing me." Nicholas Wilde smirked, playing with said ears, gently holding them both straight upright, the way he liked them most.

They were relaxing on the couch in their shared apartment at the end of a long day. They had tomorrow off, and that fact coupled with Judy's courage reaching critical mass led her to decide that tonight would be the night she confessed to Nick. She sat in his lap, taking some comfort in their typical cuddling position and trying to find some of the peace it usually brought her. Anything to help steel her resolve for the difficult conversation ahead. She pulled out her note card and bent it back and forth, rehearsing what she would say in her head.

"Is that a note card?" He laughed nervously. "Did they give me an award at the precinct by mistake? Because it feels like you're about to give me an award. Why isn't the Chief presenting it? Why isn't _Clawhauser_ presenting it? I could see him hosting an award show." His ears tilted backward as Judy crossed her arms and thumped her foot impatiently on his leg. "I'm sorry, Carrots. Nobody's ever come at me with a note card before. I don't know how much I should be panicking."

"Hopefully not at all." Judy's expression softened as she pawed the card uncertainly. "Mmf. I can't do this facing away from you." She rolled off his lap and onto the couch beside him, shimmying up next to him until their bodies pressed lightly against each other. "OK." She took a deep breath.

Nick was trying to look like he wasn't nervous, but the way Judy cringed when she looked up at him told him he was failing. "Please relax, Nick. I'm the one who's gonna be on trial today." She managed a weak smile to reassure him. Her lapine ears caught Nick taking a deep breath that she guessed she wasn't supposed to hear. He was trying to calm himself. She resolved to plow straight ahead and get the looming feelings of dread out of their fur. "In the last few months, I've developed a thing for your teeth." She said in a rush.

Nick blinked, then cocked his head. "I assume you're going to expand on that? Otherwise I think you could have gotten by with a post-it note." He teased.

"I felt weird about it because…" This part was delicate. This was why she had notes. "People have judged you in the past because of your teeth. That's not what I'm doing." She shook her head vehemently. "I really like your teeth because they're sharp, and strong, but most of all because they're attached to _you._ " She had deviated from the notes, and she felt the very beginnings of a headache coming on from the stress of it all. She searched Nick's face for his reaction.

"So, you like my teeth. I'm pretty sure that's allowed." Nick smirked, running the pads of his paw over the top of Judy's head.

"You're not upset that I like the fact that your teeth look… predatory?" Judy grimaced as she forced the word out. She had to make sure he understood.

"Well, if you were a fox I'd expect you to look at my teeth sometimes." He said evenly. "Good teeth are one of the things we're wired to look for. I've heard vixens gossip about their boyfriends' teeth before."

"Oh, wow. I hadn't even thought of that." Judy muttered. She wasn't out of the woods yet, though. "Well, the biggest reason I've been worried is that I've had these fantasies about you… using your teeth on me." She mumbled. She could feel her ears burn with shame. She wondered if Nick could smell her shame too. "I know you'd never hurt me!" Judy added in a rush. "But I can't get the thought of your teeth - _on me_ \- out of my head." The nervous bunny finished, casting her gaze to her feet as she waited for Nick's paw to recoil.

"Hmm." Judy hadn't expected another paw to join the party, conspiring with the first to pull her into Nick's lap. Her pulse quickened. What was he doing? He hadn't pushed her away. He didn't even sound upset. He sounded… intrigued?

"That could be arranged." Nick lilted. Judy was stiff, not daring to believe what she was hearing. "You know what they say. 'Try everything.'" She felt him shrug, and then a solitary claw was bending one of her ears toward his mouth. Could she really be this lucky?

The anxious rabbit felt teeth on the edge of one of her long, soft ears, and she had her answer. Yes. She was the luckiest girl in the world.

The teeth withdrew for a moment, but she could sense them, millimeters away. Hot breaths blew past her ears, which twitched involuntarily. She ached with anticipation, but Nick had something to say.

"You know, as long as we're doing confessions, do you have any idea how soft you are?" Nick's question started very matter-of-factly but by the end it was almost a growl. Judy wondered when the room had started spinning, but then she realized she was on her back. "If you're copping to loving my teeth, then I'll cop to loving how soft and delicate you feel." Nick's nose brushed past her cheek. "I'll cop to loving that little cotton tail. I'll admit that I always hope you'll fall asleep on the couch just so I can carry you to bed because you're _so light._ I could carry you for hours, Carrots." He murmured. Judy sucked in a ragged breath as she writhed beneath him. His words were turning her mind to mush, and she found herself quivering with excitement at how close his voice was. Any moment now, he would go for her ears again. "And I could chew on these for _days._ " He hissed, and his teeth closed around a long, fuzzy, ear.

"Nick…" She whispered, but she really wasn't sure what else needed to be said.

Nick, for his part, was trying to figure out where to take things next. The bedroom seemed like the logical place - but no, that was too normal. What would suit Judy's fantasy? Her clothes probably had to go at some point. _Ah. There's something._

He considered her shirt. It was laundry day, which made it unlikely to be one of her favorites. Dark purple plaid. She tended to favor lighter colors for her button-down shirts. If this was a B-team shirt… "How much did this shirt cost?" He growled, tugging lightly at the fabric with his claws.

Judy blinked through the haze of arousal Nick had created, trying to figure out if she'd heard him correctly. "My shirt?" She mumbled in confusion.

"Would you miss it?" She felt his breath on her neck, and as his paw flexed yet again on the cheap but comfortable fabric protecting her torso, she understood what he was asking.

Nick looked up with a mouthful of shirt to find a deliriously happy bunny looking down at him. "They come in a three-pack." She informed him with relish.

The fox growled in triumph and ripped her shirt wide open.

* * *

"We should see if we can get those shirts by the crate. Or maybe on a subscription basis. That was - wow." Judy was splayed over her boyfriend's chest, a very satisfied puddle of bunny. They'd ended up in the bedroom after all, but she'd allowed Nick to drag her there. It was an interesting change of pace, to say the least.

"I will second the 'wow.'" Nick sighed contentedly, rubbing his paws over his long-eared lover's back. He'd put his claws away for now, but he was sure they'd be back soon. "I don't suppose there's any chance they make shirts in cool ranch flavor, but we might as well ask. I have a feeling I'll be eating as many shirts as I do actual meals."

"Mmm, I hope so." Judy giggled. "So, 'try everything.' I'm definitely not complaining, but are you taking life advice from pop music now?"

He raised his eyebrows in an expression of exaggerated sincerity. "Hey, Gazelle makes a boatload of money. Anybody that rich has to know what she's doing." Judy looked at him dubiously.

"This from the guy who wouldn't even dance at the concert." Judy scoffed.

"I don't have to dance to take her advice." The sarcastic fox smirked at his bunny belle.

"But dancing is a subset of everything." Judy retorted. "It's not 'try everything as long as you're sure you won't look silly.' It's 'try everything.'"

"Hmm. You got me." He shook his head in defeat. "Sly bunny, dumb fox." Nick smiled, pointing to Judy, then himself as he'd done so many times before.

" _My_ dumb fox." Judy sighed, nuzzling the tuft of fur on his chest.

"And my sly bunny." Nick smiled and kissed the tip of one of her ears. Privately, he wondered what they might try next.

 **TRY THE NEW COOL RANCH OXFORD FROM OLD NAVY.**


	3. The Catch-a-bun Fun-run

**This chapter is the first thing I've written in years that includes an earnest attempt to follow the correct rules for punctuation and capitalization at the end of dialogue. It's maddening.**

The Catch-a-bun Fun-run, or The Best Birthday Ever

Things had progressed since the fateful night a few months ago when Judy confessed to Nick that she fantasized about him preying on her. Like some other important moments in their relationship, it was marked by a bold willingness on both their parts to try the things that mattered to them. The inexperienced bunny's calculated gamble had paid off for both of them: Now, Judy got the thrill of being submissive and vulnerable to the handsome predator she loved, and Nick got to use the very traits that had made his life difficult to make his favorite bunny happy.

Today was Judy's birthday, and the knowing smile Nick had been wearing for the last couple of weeks left her pretty certain that he was planning something special. (The smile was hard to miss - she wondered if his hustling skills had atrophied after she turned him into an upstanding citizen). But despite her formidable skills as an investigator and the fact that she knew Nick better than anyone, she still didn't know what that special thing might be.

That is, until he announced that they were going to her favorite restaurant. She assumed that the fine dining - pricier than they usually went for, but unparalleled in the quality of their vegetable dishes - was the "something special." She received a further surprise when Nick snatched up her menu as soon as they were seated and tucked it under his own. He reached out to boop her nose with a single claw and told her he already knew exactly what she was having.

"Trust me. You're gonna love it," he assured her, taking one of her paws in his. She did trust him, of course, so when the waiter returned, Nick ordered himself a black bean burger and informed him with a smile that the lady would have "what we discussed."

Judy spent a few minutes wondering what her fantastic but cryptic mate had planned while he made incredibly smug googly eyes at her. Thankfully a steaming dish was soon deposited in front of her. Judy looked curiously at her meal. She leaned in slightly to inhale from the bowl, and then she was absolutely still. She could see Nick and even the waiter watching for her reaction at the edge of her vision, but her eyes were focused squarely on the orange ambrosia under her nose.

"Bunnyburrow carrot stew," her voice warbled a bit as she spoke. It smelled exactly like home. Even though she was in a fancy restaurant in the heart of a huge metropolis with the world's most wonderful fox, she could almost believe she was underground in her childhood home with a teeming horde of little siblings banging at her elbows.

She picked up her spoon with sudden urgency and took a bite, heedless of the steam billowing off the surface. Thankfully it was just below the scalding point. It was perfect.

"Nick, how?" her voice cracked this time, and the fox in question actually felt himself getting a little misty just watching her. She was stunned at how close it tasted to the stew she'd taken for granted as a child but craved intensely since moving to the city.

"I begged your mom to send the ingredients, and it turns out that this place already gets a lot of its carrots from Bunnyburrow," he gestured to the dining room around them, "Apparently they're the best," he explained quietly. Judy's eyes were shining with unshed tears, and he couldn't pass up the opportunity to be difficult with his favorite emotional bunny. "Now sweetheart, your Mom and the chef worked hard on that. If you cry in it you're gonna get the salt content all out of whack," Nick teased with a loving smile. She attempted to glare at him, but her face was trembling too much for it to work very well.

"I'm an adult, I'll cry where I want to," Judy laughed wetly and took another bite, savoring the taste of home.

"Your Mom sent the spices all pre-mixed in a little tub and left them out of the recipe. Even then she made me swear the kitchen staff to secrecy. Bit paranoid, I think," he smirked. The rest of the tub was hidden in a rarely-used cabinet in their apartment. He was toying with the idea of making a batch to freeze in case of a bad day.

"That sounds about right." Judy laughed, dabbing at her nose with her napkin after the hot stew and her gooey emotions had conspired to make it drip.

After they'd finished their wonderful dinner, they stepped onto the street to find the evening air pleasantly warm, but not terribly humid. The concrete beneath them would be releasing the heat of the now-departed sun for another hour or two. Judy expected that they would get a cab home or perhaps walk for a bit in the nearby park, but Nick stopped a few paces outside the door of the restaurant, and she looked up to him curiously. "So, the night's still young. I've got something else planned."

Judy could see nervous excitement under his subtle smile. He still didn't show much genuine emotion in public, but she didn't mind too much - it made their moments alone more precious, and she never gave him the chance to bottle anything up, anyway.

"There's more?" Judy's eyebrows rose. "That stew is a pretty hard act to follow, just so you know," she warned him playfully.

"Have a little faith, Carrots. The stew was the opening act. The main event is… well, it's a little early to call it a masterpiece, but I feel like it's some of my best work." It was the closest thing to humility she'd ever heard from him. "I'll let you decide."

"Well now I'm _really_ curious. Where to?" she inquired as she squeezed his paw, inviting him to lead on.

He smirked and reached into his pocket for something, casting a surreptitious glance around them. "That…" he began, pulling a dark piece of cloth taut between his paws until it resolved itself into a blindfold. "is for sly foxes to know and curious bunnies to find out."

Said bunny felt heat rise in her cheeks as he gently tied the blindfold. Seconds after it was secure, she heard a vehicle approach, and a moment later Nick was gently guiding her inside. Wherever they were going, they were on their way.

After a few quiet minutes nestled into Nick's side, she had decided that the vehicle carrying her to parts unknown was familiar somehow. She'd heard this rough idle before, but it had been a while, and she had the vague notion that the sound of the engine had been buried under something else the last time she'd heard it. It even smelled vaguely familiar.

Normally, when Judy Hopps had a mystery on her paws, she could count on her favorite fox to help her solve it. But on the subject of why she was blindfolded and where they were going, he was less than helpful. Still, even working alone and without her sight, she had a theory. "I just want to be clear about something," she began.

"And what would that be?" Nick prompted.

"Is this Finnick's van?" There was a tiny element of admonition in her voice, as though he really never should have tried to pull one over on her.

"Maybe," Nick admitted.

"Hmm," The blindfolded bunny didn't seem pleased. "I'm hoping I'm way off the mark here, and I probably am, but I just want to cover my bases," she delicately explained. But when she spoke again, she did so quietly and somewhat sternly. "You and Finnick are not double-teaming me. Not in this van. Not anywhere. Not ever," Judy succinctly explained, but her last few words were drowned out by her boyfriend dissolving into hysterics beside her. A smile tugged at her lips, but she pressed on. "I am a one-fox bunny, and quite happy that way. Thankfully it sounds like I never had to worry about that, huh?" She took Nick's uproarious laughter as a confirmation that a fox-bunny sandwich had never been in the cards.

"Wow, Carrots," he choked out between gasps for air. "You gotta warn a guy before you say stuff like that," he wiped away a tear and squeezed his girlfriend's shoulder. "I could've died! At the very least, I'm gonna be all winded before we even get started. Hoo boy." He seemed to take a moment to catch his breath. "No, that kind of thing never crossed my mind. Anyway, Finn's just handling logistics tonight. I figured leading a blindfolded bunny into a cab was bound to lead to some uncomfortable questions. Finn doesn't ask questions. He just demands bribes."

Judy heard Finnick mutter something from the front about his new subwoofers not paying for themselves.

"I have to admit my curiosity is piqued," she commented.

The van pulled to a slightly jerky stop several minutes later, and Judy was no closer to figuring out where they were.

As Nick gently lifted her out of the van and onto the ground - pavement, she quickly determined - it occurred to her that it probably wasn't even necessary to blindfold her for the entire journey. He could have taken her nearly anywhere in town and still managed to surprise her if they were doing something new, which she assumed they would. She smiled to herself as she considered the idea that the blindfold was mostly for the sake of reminding her who was calling the shots. She loved it when Nick took charge, and he knew it.

They had been on a sidewalk or some other kind of smooth path for a few minutes now. Judy knew they were outdoors, but from what she could hear, it didn't seem like there were many buildings or people nearby. Perhaps a park after all? But if it was a park, then why the secrecy? And why not the one close to the restaurant?

Nick squeezed Judy's paw and felt her squeeze back. She was walking along beside him, curiously tilting her ears in various directions, but ultimately trusting him to guide her. He smiled as they reached their destination, coming to a stop in front of a canvas-covered iron gate. He looked back in the direction from which they'd come and held up a paw as a signal. He wanted to buy himself an extra moment at the gate to have a little fun with Judy while she was still blindfolded.

Judy smiled shyly now that they had stopped, imagining that Nick might be looking at her since they were no longer walking. He bent down in front of her, placing both paws on her shoulders and brushing his muzzle against the base of one of her ears. "We… have arrived," he whispered, removing her blindfold with a flourish.

With the gate behind her, Judy cast her eyes in a wide arc but didn't turn around. The huge, widely-spaced buildings and pennants hanging from the lamp posts gave away their location, but she still couldn't imagine what they were doing there. "Zoo U… Are we seeing a play?" Judy wondered aloud. Not having spent any time at the university, she wasn't certain where the theater building was, or that one even existed, but none of the buildings nearby seemed like good candidates.

"If we were going to a student theater production I would have brought some earplugs to go with the blindfold, Carrots," Nick smiled wryly. "I do love you, you know."

He gave her a quick peck, stood up, and removed a key from his pocket, sliding it into the gate that Judy hadn't noticed until now. After a short struggle with the lock, he pulled the large gate open to reveal a running track surrounded by row after row of completely empty bleachers.

The couple stepped inside, and Nick locked the gate behind them.

The question on Judy's face was clear, and Nick delighted in the fact that she hadn't figured it out yet. He couldn't bear to keep it to himself any longer, though. Finally, he spilled the beans.

"I am going to chase your cute little cotton tail around this track until I catch you. Then I'm going to have my way with you." Judy's eyebrows shot up and she looked at him dubiously. She was fast - faster than the average bunny - and he knew it. "Alternatively, I will chase you around this track until I require medical attention. If that happens, you're free to have _your_ way with _me_ in the ambulance," he declared magnanimously.

"I think the paramedics might have an issue with me sucking your face while they try to bring you back to life," Judy remarked.

"I'm a little rusty on my first aid but I think you're supposed to blow," Nick reminded her cheekily, beginning to walk down the steps toward the field.

Judy rolled her eyes and followed him. "Such a smart-ass," she declared fondly.

"Guilty," Nick agreed immediately.

Judy looked around the sprawling field. "So did you get tired of chasing me around the apartment?" she inquired coquettishly, paws behind her back.

"Well, the apartment is fine if you're a sloth, but I'm getting a little tired of dodging furniture. I mean, it's fun, but I thought it might be even _more_ fun to find somewhere we can really open it up. Here it's just the two of us - no end tables in sight."

"Well it's a really nice idea." Judy smiled warmly as she closed the gap between them and nuzzled her face into his belly. "Provided no one can see us," she added in a small voice.

They'd come to a stop at the edge of the field. The track was a few meters away, but the grass beneath their feet was soft and cool compared to the sidewalk and stairs. "Way ahead of you," he declared smugly. "I've got Clawhauser guarding the gate just in case."

"You got Clawhauser in on this?" Judy exclaimed in a strangled voice, trying to stay quiet in case it carried up through the empty stadium seats. She really wasn't too surprised though. The doughy cat was their biggest cheerleader - perhaps literally. "So how much did you tell him? Is Finnick in on the plan too? Is he waiting in the van with smelling salts in case you can't catch me?" she teased.

"Finnick's gone, and like I said, he doesn't ask questions. I told him we'd get a cab or the subway back home. As for our cover, I told Clawhauser that we had a moment together once on a run, and I thought you'd enjoy the gesture," he shrugged. "What we like to do behind closed doors or on a state university's athletic complex is between you and I," Nick solemnly decreed.

"You spoil me," Judy sighed and looked up at him adoringly.

He smoothed the fur on top of her head back and kissed the tip of an ear. "I needed a hobby," he murmured with a tiny shrug.

"How did you get a key?" Judy asked suspiciously. "Let me guess, you 'know everyone?'"

"You wound me, fluff! As if I'd use my shady contacts to gain access to these fine facilities. I did no such thing." He crossed his arms smugly. "I just informed the head of the athletics department that the ZPD would need the track tonight for a training exercise."

Judy's jaw dropped. "You _are_ a shifty fox!" she scolded. "Using public resources to fund our foreplay! I should chase _you_ around this track, Nicholas Wilde!"

"But that would be backwards," he helpfully reminded her, beginning to unbutton his shirt. Judy glowered at him in a way that suggested she would not be distracted by his gorgeous, lush chest fur. She was about to chastise him for turning her into a delinquent, but her train of thought was derailed when she saw what was hiding under his shirt.

As the first few buttons were undone, a neon-colored tank top began to materialize. As his shirt opened more and more, she noticed that the tank top seemed to be made of mesh, almost like a - "You bought a running shirt for this?" she laughed incredulously.

"Oh, just wait, Carrots. It gets better," he grinned confidently as he undid the last few buttons.

It did get better. The jersey-like material had lettering. It read " _ **1st annual Catch-a-bun Fun-run**_." Judy's jaw dropped yet again. Nick turned around to show off the back, which indicated that he was contestant number one.

"You like it?" he asked rhetorically, looking over his shoulder with his paws on his hips to let her take in the giant "#1" on his back.

"You… are a _massive_ goof," the grey bunny sighed, shaking her head hopelessly, "Very lovable, but still a goof." Said goof turned to face her again, still posing majestically with a toothy grin. "You know, this is probably the only time in your life you'll run on purpose," she teased.

"Hey, when first prize is Judy Hopps, I'm in. And I'm in to win," Nick's voice lowered an octave, and she closed her eyes, quivering with anticipation as he approached her. "So what do you say, little bunny? Are you ready to run?" He dragged a claw over one of her cheeks and roughly nuzzled the other, pressing his nose into her fur and drawing in her scent with the ferocity of a jet turbine. She could feel him smiling with every tooth he had - for her benefit, of course.

"Yes," Judy breathed, feeling slightly dizzy with anticipation. Regardless of who was faster, he was absolutely going to catch her. She could never let her fox go hungry.

Nick growled triumphantly. He knew quite well that she was ready - the heady aroma of her excitement told him all he needed to know. He'd just wanted to hear her say it.

"Then run," he whispered. His claw vanished, and Judy registered his movement as a sudden absence of heat on her face. She opened her eyes just in time to see him at the apex of a pounce.

The bunny cop was meters away before he hit the ground. She grinned from ear to ear, dress whipping around her hips, her lover's deep, lusty laughter floating through the air behind her as she flew along the track.

 **If another chapter happens, it will be a direct continuation from here. Please review if you're interested in more, or if you enjoyed reading.**


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